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Metrologia

Traceable calibration of a fibre-coupled superconducting nano-wire single photon detector using characterized synchrotron radiation

Ingmar Müller, Roman Markus Klein, Lutz Werner

Published Nov 20, 2014• 15 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Radiometric calibrations of fibre-coupled single photon detectors are experiencing growing demand, especially at the telecommunication wavelengths. In this paper, the radiometric calibration of a fibre-coupled superconducting nano-wire single photon detector at the telecom wavelength 1.55 µm by means of well-characterized synchrotron radiation is described. This substitution method is based on the unique properties of synchrotron radiation and the Metrology Light Source, the dedicated electron storage ring of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, and is suitable for fibre-coupled single photon detectors. The Metrology Light Source is used as a light source with a high dynamic range of the radiant power to bridge the radiometric gap occurring in the transition from radiant power measurements and the counting of photons with single photon detectors. Very low uncertainties below 2% have been achieved in the measurement of the detection efficiency of a fibre-coupled superconducting nano-wire single photon detector.

DOI
10.1088/0026-1394/51/6/s329

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Radiometric calibrations of fibre-coupled single photon detectors are experiencing growing demand, especially at the telecommunication wavelengths. In this paper, the radiometric calibration of a fibre-coupled superconducting nano-wire single photon detector at the telecom wavelength 1.55 µm by means of well-characterized synchrotron radiation is described. This substitution method is based on the unique properties of synchrotron radiation and the Metrology Light Source, the dedicated electron storage ring of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, and is suitable for fibre-coupled single photon detectors. The Metrology Light Source is used as a light source with a high dynamic range of the radiant power to bridge the radiometric gap occurring in the transition from radiant power measurements and the counting of photons with single photon detectors. Very low uncertainties below 2% have been achieved in the measurement of the detection efficiency of a fibre-coupled superconducting nano-wire single photon detector.
A system for calibrating single photon detector efficiency that is traceable to the SI through a state-of-the-art classical optical fibre radiometer has been developed and is in the process of being vetted as a calibration service at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The method of calibration is direct substitution to power meters relative to NIST's optical fibre cryogenic primary standard and builds on the existing measurement infrastructure for the calibration of optical fibre power meters. Recent improvements to the optical fibre cryogenic radiometer make it more robust and deployable. The traceability of the single photon detector calibration service under development to these classical measurements is discussed, along with a description of the technique used in this calibration service to calibrate the detection efficiency of single photon detectors. Finally, we discuss work on the development of these technologies so that in the future they may be deployable to the point-of- use.
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Single-photon sources and detectors are key enabling technologies for photonics in quantum information science and technology (QIST). QIST applications place high-level demands on the performance of sources and detectors; it is therefore essential that their properties can be characterized accurately. Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) have spectral sensitivity from visible to beyond 2 μm in wavelength, picosecond timing resolution (Jitter <100 ps FWHM) and the capacity to operate ungated with low dark counts (<1 kHz). This facilitates data acquisition at high rates with an excellent signal-to-noise ratio. We report on the construction and characterization of a two-channel SNSPD system. The detectors are mounted in a closed-cycle refrigerator, which eliminates reliance on liquid cryogens. Our specification was to deliver a system with 1% efficiency in both channels at a wavelength of 1310 nm with 1 kHz dark count rate. A full width at half maximum timing jitter of less than 90 ps is achieved in both channels. The system will be used to detect individual photons generated by quantum-optical sources at telecom wavelengths. Examples include single-photon sources based on quantum dots (emitting at 1310 nm). The SNSPD system's spectral sensitivity and timing resolution make it suited to characterization of such sources, and to wider QIST applications.
We present a break-through approach to mid-infrared single-photon detection based on nanowire NbN superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPD). Although SSPD became a mature technology for telecom wavelengths (1.3-1.55 μm) its further expansion to mid-infrared wavelength was hampered by low sensitivity above 2 μm. We managed to overcome this limit by reducing the nanowire width to 50 nm, while retaining high superconducting properties and connecting the wires in parallel to produce a voltage response of sufficient magnitude. The new device exhibits 10 times better quantum efficiency at 3.5 μm wavelength than the “standard” SSPD.